Method of making welting fillets and strips



J 6, 1934- w. G. BARBOUR I 1,943,410

METHOD OF MAKING WELTING FILLETS AND STRIPS Filed Aug. 2, 1930 Gr ain 5,01 1' t Grain Grain F/ bbon IN VENT OR Patented Jan. 16, 1934 UNITED STATES ATENT QFFICE METHOD OF MAKING WELTING FILLETS AND STRIPS Walter G. Barbour, Quincy, Mass, assignor to Perley E. Barbour, Quincy, Mass, doing business as Barbour Welting Company, Brockton,

Mass.

Application August 2, 1930. Serial No. 472,721

6 Claims.

My invention relates to fillets and strips for the manufacture of shoe welting'and more particularly to a novel method of their preparation.

Leather welting, of all grades, is much thinner or of less substance than the portion of the hide from which the welting fillets are out. Since the grain must be preserved on the fillet for the finish of the welting much of the flesh must be removed and uses found for it, for example, as stitchdown welting. Another source of Waste under. the present general practice is the thin skiving or shelly grain ribbon that is split from the surface'of the grain after which the grain face is redressed thus producing a fine face and a pliable, easily worked welt strip.

The object of my invention is to save what has heretofore been waste material while yet producing welting fillets and strips the equivalent in grain face and, if desired, body to those manufactured at present.

To the accomplishment of this object my invention comprises the novel method of manufacturing welting fillets and strips hereinafter described and then pointed out in its true scope in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing, which will assist in understanding the sequence of the principal steps followed in practicing my process to obtain the best quality of welting, somewhat exaggerated perspectives of a portion of an unlimited long fillet are shown in the four figures, Figures 1 and 2 showing respectively a portion of a thick leather fillet as produced from the hide and the step of severing said fillet to produce a grain and a flesh splitting; Fig. 3 showing the grain splitting reversed and. cemented, grain down,- on the flesh splitting, this operation constituting the second step; and Fig. 4 showing the third step which comprises a second splitting of the composite fillet through substantially the middle of the grain.

Referring to the drawing, I strip the shoulder, or other portion of the hide, and these strips are scarfed and joined to make an unlimited long fillet 10 (Fig. 1) which, for finished stitchdown welting of 2/32 of an inch thickness, has been evened to a uniform thickness of A; to 9/ 64 of an inch. I then split each fillet 10 widthwise and, for this example of the process, substantially centrally of its thickness producing a grain splitting 12 and a flesh splitting 14 each of approximately 2/32 of an inch substance or thickness. I then cement the split face, preferably, of the flesh splitting 14 (or the grain face of the grain splitting l2), and secure the two splittings together with the grain of the grain splitting centrally of the composite or laminated fillet 16 thus formed. In other words, after the two splittings have been formed the grain splitting 12 is reversed, laid back on and firmly secured to the flesh splitting 14 by cement and pressure. Thus the fillet is again restored to its original 4; or more of an inch thickness. My final preparatory step is to re-split the composite fillet l6 widthwise, this time through substantially the middle of the grain substance so that each of the two 2/32 of an inch fillets thus produced has a grain face. The fillet 18, formerly the grain splitting 12, has a grain face from which the shelly outer surface has been removed and has substantially the same commercial qualities as grain welting manufactured by present methods. The fillet 20, in this example formerly the flesh splitting 14, also has a grain face formed by the inner side of the outer'grain surface that was removed from the grain splitting 12 by virtue of the character and location of the out last described. Both of the grain faces thus produced can be finished and dressed after the usual approved methods whereupon each fillet is ready to be split lengthwise and the welt strips thus formed may be used as stitchdown welting or, according to their thickness, may be further processed to make Goodyear welting and its variants, or other types as may be desired.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the dimensions named above are merely by Way of example, the limits of width and length being optional and the limit of thickness of the completed fillets 18 and 26 being determined, respectively, by the thickness of the hide and a choice of body material for the ungrained fillet. Neither is it essential that the first splitting be exactly through the middle of the thickness of the fillet cut from the hide. The more important welting strip obtained by this method is the one retaining the natural grain and the depth of the first split from the grain face should be gauged to give the substance required for the consequent grain splitting 12 letting the entire remaining portion of the flesh substance go into the thickness of the flesh fillet which when used may be re-split if desired. If it is required that both fillets be of exactly the same substance then the grain splitting 12 should be made heavier than the flesh splitting 14 by the thickness of the grain skiving or ribbon that is removed therefrom in the second splitting operation. In any case the final splitting of a composite fillet is through the substance of the grain resulting in a portion of its thickness being thrown from a grain fillet onto the face of an ungrained fillet.

I have found that if the splittings 12 and 14 be secured together by latex cement such a permanent bondis formed thatthe wearingqualities of welting :made from the :fillet 20 having the applied grain ribbon is substantially equal to that of welting made from the fillet 18 having the'integral or natural grain face. It should be understood that the grain and flesh splittings that are cemented together are not necessarily theexact two splittings 12 and 14 that have been formed from the same fillet 10, although this may be the most economical and convenient manufacturing process. For example the flesh fillet or body, to which the grain fillet or splitting is cemented grain face inward, may be formed from a plurality of thinner splittings "from the hide stock which have previously been cemented together to build up a laminated or a pancake flesh body :to the substance desired for stitchdownor other kinds of welting. The important feature of my invention is the novel manufacture of welting, having a grain face, by Ithrowing onto an=ungrained body a portion of the thickness of the-original grain from a grain filletor stripand the nature of the ungrained body, .whethersolid -or composite, is not of importance except as it affects the quality of the welting thus produced. Any convenientwidth of strip from the hide may be used in practicing my method.

Having thus described my novel method of .manufacturing welting fillets and strips through the practice of which waste materialis conserved, what is claimedas new, is:-

l. The method of .making welting fillets and strips which consists in preparing a grain leather fillet'of atleast double thedesiredthickness-of the welting, splitting said leather fillet widthwise through its thickness, reversing a grain splitting and securing it grain down on a flesh splitting, and resplitting the composite leather fillet widthwise through substantially the middle of the grain substance.

.2. The method of making welting fillets and strips according to claim .1 in which the grain leather fillet is double the thickness of the desired welting and the first widthwise splitting is through the middle of its thickness.

3. The method of making welting fillets and strips according toclaim 1 in which the grain said composite fillet widthwise substantially through the middle of .the grain substance.

-'5.'The method of producing two grain-faced fillets or strips of welting from separate grain :and flesh-fillets which consists in cementing'said two fillets together-grain to :flesh, andlthen splitting said composite fillet widthwise intermediate its two flesh faces ina plane-to'leaveafter separation, a portion of .the original grain of the grain fillet on a face of the flesh fillet.

6. The method-of providinga grain-facingpn two fillets :or strips, from the grain on one that has been cut from the hide, which comprises cementing .an ungrained vbody .fillet 'to the .grain on said hide filletan'd then dividing the composite fillet throwing a splitting from said grain onto the contacting face of said body fillet, leaving the balance of 'the split grain on said hide fillet.

WALTER G. BARBOUR. 

